Plan for tower toppled

Templeton Properties Ltd. president Joe Metlege. The company has scaled down the size of its Fenwick Tower redevelopment after consultation with area residents and the city. (FILE)

Halifax’s Templeton Properties Ltd. has dropped a proposed second highrise tower from its Fenwick Tower redevelopment as part of a major reconfiguration of its plan for the site.

The new plan for the prime property in Halifax’s south end follows consultations with the area’s residents and city officials, the firm’s president said Friday.

“We’ve scaled down the size of the redevelopment significantly while enhancing the use of the site and adding value to the city’s tax base,” Joe Metlege said in an interview.

A second residential tower matching the existing one has been removed from the proposal. Rebuilding that first tower remains on the table.

“The plan is to entirely gut and retrofit the interior of the existing building and to reclad the exterior with glass and metal,” Metlege said.

“Some architectural features will be added to enhance the roof line.”

Instead of building a second tower, Metlege has proposed a four-storey residential townhouse complex for the part of the site fronting Fenwick Street.

The townhouses’ architectural features would help it blend in with the homes in the neighbourhood, Metlege said.

A couple of new apartment buildings are still part of the plan — a ten-storey building on the east side of the site and an eight-storey building on the west side.

There are currently 340 residential units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space at the Fenwick Tower site, which long ago included a bowling alley.

The latest proposal would see boosted to 455 residential units along with 40,000 square feet of commercial space — it it gets approved.

Metlege said he is keeping cost estimates confidential for the time being, but the loss of the proposed 35-storey second tower at the site significantly reduces the initial $150-million price tag attached to the project.

The general public will get its first official viewing of the new redevelopment plan at a public information session June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Westin Nova Scotian.

Templeton Properties needs the municipality to approve an amendment to its existing development agreement before beginning construction.